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Spotted Green Pufferfish

Spotted Green Puffer ~ Green Spotted Puffer ~ Spotted Puffer Family: Tetraodontidae

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Tetraodon nigroviridis Photo © Animal-World: Courtesy David Brough

   In general freshwater puffers are rarer than saltwater puffers, but the Spotted Green Puffer is one of the most commonly available... and this fish is a most popular attraction!

   The Spotted Green Puffer is a very cute adorable little fish. It is very playful, active, and curious making it a joy to watch. It has a great personality as well and will come to recognize its owner, getting excited when it sees you.

   Although this puffer will do well if kept singly as it can be an aggressive fin-nipper, it can also be kept with others of its own kind as well as other species. Be certain that for a community setting you choose large non-aggressive tank mates and a good sized aquarium.

   Provide plants and rockwork arranged in such a way that they break the line of sight and offer hiding places, but still provide open areas swimming. The natural habitat of this fish is in fresh to brackish waters. You can see on the distribution map below where it has been discovered. Like most brackish water fish, it can be acclimated to a full saltwater environment. Some hobbyists believe this is the best environment for it as it matures..

For more Information on keeping this fish see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Freshwater Aquarium

Distribution:
   The Spotted Green Puffers are found in Asia; Sri Lanka to Indonesia and north to China.They inhabit freshwater to brackish coastal estuaries; streams, rivers, and floodplains where they are found singly or in small groups.

   NOTE: It is important that you distinguish which pufferfish you are purchasing as their water requirements vary considerably. The Spotted Green Puffer Tetraodon nigroviridis is often confused with its close relatives the Green Puffer or Ceylon Puffer Tetraodon fluviatilis, as well as the Freshwater Spotted Puffer Tetraodon schoutedeni.
   Though all three are spotted and have very similar coloration, the Spotted Green Puffer has a more rounded ball shaped body while the Green Puffer's body is more elongated. The Spotted Green Puffer and the Green Puffer are readily available in the industry, while the Freshwater Spotted Puffer reportedly hasn't been available in the industry for a number of years.

Status:
   These fish are not endangered.

Description:
   The Spotted Green Puffer has a stout rounded body shape with small spines. The face is very cute, having a smallish mouth topped by slightly bulging eyes and a broad forehead . Like many of the pufferfish, the coloring of the Spotted Green Puffer can vary. The adult is a beautiful rich green on top with dark spots and a whitish belly. In juveniles the green is less colorful.
   Pufferfish have the ability to 'puff' themselves up with water or air if threatened. When they inflate, their spines protrude outward and this apparently helps keep them from being eaten. Another defense of many puffer species is to produce toxic substances in their flesh that is poisonous if eaten. The Pufferfish can be quite long lived in the aquarium, many living for 10 or more years.

Size - Weight:
   These fish can grow up to 6 3/4 inches (17 cm).

Care and feeding:
   The Spotted Green Puffers are omnivores, though a large part of their diet is meaty foods. In their natural environment they will eat various invertebrates, crustaceans and mollusks, but they also eat some vegetation.They are not difficult to feed as they will usually eat a variety of flake, frozen, and live foods including shrimp, ghost shrimp (gut-loaded), bloodworms, freeze-dried krill, crabs, brine shrimp, and snails.
   Puffers have strong teeth that grow throughout their lives, so are prone to overgrown teeth. Offer hard shelled live food often to keep the teeth worn down. Feeding snails daily will help to wear down the teeth. If the teeth get too long, they will be unable to eat, requiring the owner to clip the teeth.
   Since puffers do not have gill covers or scales, they are thought to be more susceptible to diseases, nitrite, nitrate and ammonia levels. Like all puffers, this puffer is not a good fish to cycle an aquarium with. Also because they usually don't eat all of their food (messy eaters!), these fish will usually put more load on the aquarium filtration requiring more frequent water changes and better maintenance in general. A generous weekly water change of 30% to 50% is the standard recommendation for a puffer aquarium.
   A 20 gallon aquarium will work well for this puffer, however if you want to keep more than one or some other species with them, a well planted 50 - 60 gallon aquarium is better. Provide plenty of plants and rockwork for retreats as well as open areas for swimming. This puffer fish is a freshwater to brackish species and adding aquarium salt is suggested. But like many of the brackish species, the Spotted Green Puffer can be acclimated to hard, alkaline fresh water or it can be acclimated to a saltwater environment.

Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom:
   The Spotted Green Puffer will swim in the bottom and middle areas of your aquarium.

Acceptable Water Conditions:
   Temp: 75° - 82° F (24 - 28°C)
   pH: 7.5 to 8.5
   Hardness: 9 - 19 dH (medium to medium hard)

Social Behaviors:
   Like all the pufferfish, the Green Spotted Puffer can vary greatly in temperament from one individual to another. They are generally regarded as aggressive fin-nippers and often kept singly. However they can be kept in a community setting with others of their own species as well as other large non-aggressive species. In a community setting, be sure there is plenty of room and that the aquarium is well planted. It can also have a variety of other decor such as rocks and roots. Place the decor in a manner that breaks their line of site and provides plenty of retreats for all the fish.

Sexual Differences:
   Sexual differences are unknown.

Breeding/Reproduction:
   Has not been bred commercially in captivity, but possibly bred successfully by hobbyists. Research indicates that the female will lay approximately 200 eggs on a smooth, protected surface. They are also known to guard the nest, notably the male.

Availability:
   The Spotted Green Puffers are commonly available.

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Latest Comments
I bought 1 GSP and it seemed depressed and distant from the other fish, and they dont eat flake food. I got him blood worms and he loves it. This GSP didn't bother my other fish. I then bought another GSP and it was fine. I really liked them a lot. I then started noticing my other fish had bites out of their fins. I didn't know who was doing this. I have a 50 gallon tank with many different species of friendly fish. I then saw the newer one biting my angelfish. I put it down in my 30 gallon tank in the basement. Then the older GSP was even worse after I took the other one out. I would feed it and it would still bite my other fish up really bad. I then put that one in the 30 gallon. They are by themselves now. They are like gremlins, cute at first then they turn to terrors. I want to grow them really big then sell them. Dan 2009-06-24
Hi I have had my GSPs for about a month. They started out the same size but one has grown much bigger than the other. I call them Pebbles and Bam Bam. Flake food does not appeal to them. They seem to really love ghost shrimp and what ever other fish I put in there. They have eaten my tiger barbs and I bought some feeder fish that I thought they were getting along with until they started disappearing. I have recently bought some black mollies but decided to keep them separate because when I got home from buying them they had babies. So I'm waiting for them to grow before I add them. I hear that they need snails for their teeth but I can only find medium or large snails. No one has small snails, they all say that they destroy them. Other than that I love my puffers and I'm glad I decided to get them. Tevin 2009-06-17
From the research I have done, the GSP likes brackish water the best and thus their belly will whiten up. Get a hydrometer and measure the salinity. I purchased the Deep Six Hydrometer from my local store. Prices vary wildly as my store charges double on everything I have priced. I have seen these advertized on the web for 7.95 + shipping. On the PLUS side, it is nice to be able to walk into the store and have my questions all answered, water tested, etc. Brackish water measures 1.001 to 1.016. A good range seems to be 1.014 to 1.016. jim 2009-06-14
Our little puffer, three weeks new to us, seems to like his BW best. When first purchased, we had a mini tank, just over 1 gallon. PUFFER FISH - 101 ON THE RUN! We put in a shot glass half full of salt. He swam over it and seemed to enjoy the salt essence rising in the water around him. fish, salt and tank purchased at WalMart. Just two days ago I noticed a little brown/gray on his tummy. Could either be the new water in the tank, not salty enough yet or his personality. Don't have a meter yet. We will have to watch that one. Put more salt in the tank and back to white tummy a day later. His personality showing us he don't like FW and need to make SW? He eats: (LOVES)blood worms, meal worms and shrimp (bought in the seafood department at the grocers, small, 1/2 inch, chunk cut off and hand fed.) He will jump out of water for food and seems to puff when fed the shrimp. We have recently gotten some small snails and he has eaten them. 2 every other day. (brown/gray = tummy ache from snails?) I am currently into working on another tank for snails. I'm going with the fact that his teeth need to have these. Wish us luck! I have yet to experiment with any sort of cray fish. Noone seems to have them around here. We will get a larger tank as he grows a few more inches. He is about 2.5 - 3" currently and in a 10 gallon. I have brine shrimp eggs yet to try for him. I will eventually work on a FW algae eater. Slowly transition him to BW. Our tank has three fake plants, a couple of rocks to break up his terrain. He sleeps behind one of the rocks. Little sweetie. Seems to enjoy the lower half of the tank, but when we visit him, he's always at the top begging for a treat! I am also looking into rumors of his spine containing poison. Like the kind that the pigmy's used to paralyze people in blow darts. But then I suppose I would have to be stung by 100's of psg's at the same time for this to happen. Seems I did read somewhere something about getting infected if poked by spine. Looking for a hand syphon to clean the tanks stones on the bottom rather than to clean every week. Every other :0) will work for me! patch 2009-05-30
I have two GSPs and along with them I had a bala shark, six neon tetras, two algae eaters, two tiger barbs, and two glowlight tetras in a 60 gallon tank (I think). After the first night one of the tiger barbs was half eaten, then the other one. After that one of my algae eaters was killed. I figured it was the bala shark since it was the biggest one. Then the two glowlight tetras totally disappeared. Just recently I started separating them all. First, I took the bala shark and put it alone. Then I noticed that one of the GSPs was biting at the last algae eater's tail, keep in mind this algae eater is three times its size. So I separated the GSPs from them all except the neon tetras. I finally found the real culprits to all my dead pets. The smallest of the two GSPs killed one of my four tetras. So now they are all alone, I don't know how long I will want to keep them. It's hard keeping up with one tank, so three tanks is even worse.... Yaya 2009-05-29
Some of the coolest comments:
To the person with the comment about the belly changing to black. A friend of mine had a spotted puffer for a couple of years that would regularly change his belly from cream to black, like a chameleon they change color as they see fit(so I'm told). I just bought 2 spotted and a figure 8 today, very excited to have these little guys. nick 2009-04-19
I wish people would quit about brackish requirements for keeping Spotted Green Puffers. It has no factual bases. The Spotted Green Puffer is an amazing fish. In their natural habitat they breed and spawn in Brackish water. However, adults typically migrate to freshwater. Adult Spotted Green Puffers have been found in Marine, Brackish and Freshwater habitats. They will do just fine in a freshwater tank. However, you can't just take one which has been living in brackish or marine environment and drop them into a freshwater environment. The reverse is also true. As long as you provide a clean freshwater environment with hardwater and a slightly higher ph, this great fish will do just fine. Don't spit out information you read on the internet from people whom have no idea what they're talking about. TT 2008-11-28
Comments Dr Jungle REALLY Likes to Hear!
My first puffer died within 3 days. Got another within that time, but the first was dead before they got acquainted. The second is strong but I learned a lot here about water change. I am feeding flake food and have it with a bottom feeder and an algae eater. I got another puffer yesterday and she doesn't seem like she's gonna make it. The 2nd one bit me and my husband didn't believe it until he read this site. It's only a 5 gallon tank. We just want a fun aquarium and don't plan on adding any others. Suggestions.. jenna jenna d 2008-10-26
My Boyfriend and I just purchased a new fish tank, he is 21 and its his first tank! I really wanted a green puffer fish. i think they are so cute but i didnt know how they were until now. just wanted to thank you guys for your comments, NOW i know im gonna get one! Thanks again Pamela 2007-04-28

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Author: Clarice Brough CFFS